If You Haven't Voted Yet, But Plan To...

[willow_red]

I know that most of the locals reading this are in favor of Amendment 44, which would legalize possession of small quantities of marijuana for adults over the age of 21. Now, I am generally in favor of allowing consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes to do pretty much whatever they want. I was even going to vote for this amendment, despite my general opposition to drugs and stoned idiots. However, one detail immediately changed my vote to "no." In the blue booklet sent out to the homes of all Colorado voters, the third paragraph on page 27 states the following (italics mine):

Amendment 44 allows adults 21 years of age or older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. Possession would include consumption or use, as long as it does not occur in public. It would also include transferring up to one ounce of marijuana to another individual 15 years of age or older as long as there is no compensation, although possession for those under 21 years of age would remain illegal.

Yeah...not so much. I'm sorry if you disagree with me, but giving pot to high school kids needs to remain a crime. Not that it gets enforced enough, but that's a diffferent debate. 21 and over, have at it. Teenagers, sorry kids, no pot for you, though I'm sure that if you really want it, you can still get it illegally. However, if someone over 21 is caught giving it to you, they need to be prosecuted as the law currently states, at the very least.

Comments

[lilacwire.livejournal.com]

Hey, do you know of a good page that has writeups of all the issues/sides?

[willow-red.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of the newspapers will publish special sections (online and in print) about the various issues (and candidates), but my favorite remains the little blue book they mail out. You should have gotten one in the mail a few weeks ago. It's published by the state of Colorado and includes an impartial writeup of each issue, along with statements from the groups organized for and against each.

I'll be done with mine tonight, and you're welcome to it if you want to swing by or meet in the middle somewhere. (I only chicken-scratched on one page, so you can see how I voted, *gasp*!)

[lilacwire.livejournal.com]

^^ Nick's link works great, but thanks for the offer!

[willow-red.livejournal.com]

I searched around for a bit before replying, but Nick is better at Google than I am :).

This year's blue book is the biggest I've ever seen, so it will certainly keep you busy at work today!

[nickhalfasleep.livejournal.com]

Blue book (http://www.leg.state.co.us/lcs/0506initrefr.nsf/webview?openview)

[lilacwire.livejournal.com]

Perfect, thanks!

[nickhalfasleep.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the transferral part of that amendment struck me as a dealer loophole, and until larger laws change, this merely makes it much harder for police to crack down on illegal activity.

(Sigh.) Fuckers.

[mackys.livejournal.com]

So much for voting for that one...

Re: (Sigh.) Fuckers.

[nickhalfasleep.livejournal.com]

Ah, on second hand, check that it's the bluebook that misinforms this, not the amendment itself. The government screwing with the amendment's description in a supposedly non-biased source...

Re: (Sigh.) Fuckers.

[willow-red.livejournal.com]

Actually, it's not misinformation, just an unintended consequence that the pro-marijuana group doesn't want pointed out. Please see my other comment.

A DELIBERATE MISDIRECTION ON THE PART OF THE BLUE BOOK STAFF

[fencer-dan.livejournal.com]

If you read it again, you will note that the statement has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE AMENDMENT.

Handing marijuana to a high schooler has always been, and will continue to be illegal no matter if 44 passes or not.

Here is the Rocky Mountain News article on the Blue Book Falsehood: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article/0,2777,DRMN_23964_4993588,00.html

Re: A DELIBERATE MISDIRECTION ON THE PART OF THE BLUE BOOK STAFF

[nickhalfasleep.livejournal.com]

Yep, it's pretty sneaky.

HARDLY.

[willow-red.livejournal.com]

The purpose of the blue book statements is to be neutral, which this one is. Its purpose is to state the impacts of the amendment, intended or not. What needs to be done is to vote NO on 44, then go back, write a better amendment that addresses this problem, at which point I will happily vote for it. It is illegal to give someone who is 20 years and 11 months alcohol. The same standard should exist for marijuana as well.